Venezuela’s Chávez Celebrates Birthday; Claims To Feel Like A “Phoenix”

Top Story — Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez celebrated his 57th birthday on Thursday, claiming to feel “like the phoenix” as he battles cancer. Speaking to Venezuelan state television, Chávez declared himself reborn and later greeted supporters from a balcony at the presidential palace garbed in a yellow shirt that was a gift from his daughter. “I’m halfway through my life, another 57 years are coming!” Chávez jested. In the past few days, Chávez seems to be returning to form after breaking his unusual silence while undergoing treatment for cancer in Cuba. In another sign that the feisty Venezuelan leader is feeling better, he once again ramped up his criticism of the United States, this time honing his remarks toward President Barack Obama’s debt crisis. “The Yankees are broke. They have no money to pay their debt. It’s a good thing they don’t owe us anything, we’d have to give them a credit,” he said.

Just Published at the Latin America News Dispatch

Cuba commemorated the attack on the Moncada barracks of July 26, 1953, that propelled Fidel Castro to national fame and became the first battle of the Cuban Revolution. Get a visual sense of daily life in Havana 58 years after the historic day in this photo essay by Jorge Royan.